Mexico's Merchant Elite, 1590-1660Combining social, political, and economic history, Louisa Schell Hoberman examines a neglected period in Mexicos colonial past, providing the first book length study of the periods merchant elite and its impact on the evolution of Mexico. Through extensive archival research, Hoberman brings to light new data that illuminate the formation, behavior, and power of the merchant class in New Spain. She documents sources and uses of merchant wealth, tracing